Air distributing wall



Oct. 1l, 1955 G, L BALL 2,720,152

AIR DISTRIBUTING WALL Filed March 16, 1953 FIG l INVENTOR.

GAINES LAMAR BALL ATTORNEY United States Patent() AIR DISTRIBUTI'N G WALL Gaines Lamar Ball, West Point, Ga., assigner to Batson- Cook Company, West Point, Ga., a corporation of Georgia Application March 16, 1953, Serial No. 342,366

4 Claims. (Cl. 98-40) This invention relates to anair distributing wall, and more particularly to a wall having a plurality of passages therethrough forming elongated nozzles for `the distribution of a gaseous drying medium.

A wall or nozzle construction of the type herein described is particularly useful in dryers for slashers in the textile industry, in which dryers the material to be dried is passed adjacent perforated surfaces of several chambers, each chamber being in contact with a blower fan and an air heating unit to provide uniform circulation of the air, as well as uniform drying during the circulating cycle. Prior art dryers of the type referred to are shown in my United States Patents Nos. 2,586,200 and 2,596,358, for example. My new `air distributing wall construction herein shown and described would take the place of the perforated plates found in the walls of `certain of the air chambers shown in these patents, and the like.

An object of my invention is to provide a wall construction for efficiently distributing a supply of drying air, or other gaseous drying medium.

Another object of my invention is to provide a wall or nozzle construction for more even and uniform distribution of a gaseous drying medium.

Another object of my invention is to provide a wall or nozzle construction which is simple in design, economical to manufacture, eflicient in operation and durable in construction.

Other and further objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a device according to my invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 2 2 in Fig. 1.

In the embodiment of my invention chosen for purpose of illustration, the numerals 10, 10' designate opposite side plates between which the end member 11 is securely fastened. As seen in Fig. 2, end member 11 is in the form of an inverted L, and comprises an upright portion and a horzontalportion, the upright portion of end member 11 corresponding to the thickness of the wall section, and the horizontal portion being joined to the upper end of the upright portion to form the inverted L-shaped end member. Also fastened between the side plates 10, 10 are a plurality of intermediate members which are all formed alike. The rst of the `intermediate members has a minor upright portion 12 which is spaced laterallyfrom the upright portion of end member 11 and spaced downwardly from the horizontal portion of end member 11, the lateral spacing from the upright portion of the end member 11 being substantially the same as the downward spacing of the upper extremity of the minor upright portion 12 from the horizontal portion of end member 11, and the length of the horizontal portion of end member 11 being such that it overhangs the minor 2,720,152 Patented Oct. 11, 1955 vertical portion of the rst intermediate member. The intermediate member is also provided with a lower horizontal portion 13 which is connected to one end to the lower extremity of the minor upright portion 12 and extends at right angles therefrom in a direction away from the upright portion of end member 11 and in substantially the same plane as the lower extremity of the upright portion of end member 11.` The other end of horizontal portion 13 has attached thereto a major upright portion 14 of substantially the same length as the upright portion of end member 11, the length of lower horizontal portion 13 being such that the upper extremity of major upright portion 14 is spaced from the outer extremity of the horizontal portion of end member 11 a distance substantially equal to the lateral spacing of minor upright portion 12 from the upright portion of end member 11. Attached to the upper extremity of major upright portion 14 is an upper horizontal portion 1S which is of the same length and lies substantially in the same plane as the horizontal portion of end member 11. The number of intermediate members placed in my wall construction is a matter of choice depending upon the width of the wall to be constructed., and in relation to the successive intermediate members in my wall construction, the major upright portion 14 corresponds to the upright portion of the end member 11 and the horizontal portion 15 corresponds to the horizontal portion of the end member 11. Two additional intermediate members are shown n the drawings, having portions 12', 13', 14', 15 and 12", 13", 14", 15" corresponding respectively to the portions 12, 13, 14, 15 on the first intermediate member. When the desired number of intermediate members have been placed in position to extend the wall to the desired width, the end opposite end member 11 is closed by an end member 16 which is substantially identical in construction and positioning with the intermediate members, except that the end member 16 is not provided with the upper horizontal portion corresponding to the upper horizontal portion 15 of the intermediate members.

it will thus be seen that by my above described construction, I provide a plurality of upright air outlet passageways or nozzles 17, 17', 17", 17"' which communicate, respectively, with horizontally extending passageways 18, 18", 18", 18' which connect, respectively, with accumulators or plenum chambers 19, 197 19, 19"', these plenum chambers being provided with elongated air inlet openings 20, 20', 20, 20"' which extend across the wall from side to side, as do the nozzles 17, 17', 17", 17"'.

in the operation of my device, air or other gaseous drying medium passing downwardly through an inlet opening 20 may then pass horizontally through the passageway 18 and directly out through the nozzle 17 or may sweep into the plenum chamber 19 and thence outwardly through the passage 18 and nozzle 17. The plenum chamber 19 serves to reduce pulsations and to cushion and smooth out the force and effect of gaseous drying medium issuing from the nozzle 17; and the long, straight parallel walls on my nozzles reduce turbulence and thereby provide a more regular and even ilow of gaseous drying medium from the nozzle. The function of the other nozzles in my wall structure is the same as that described for the nozzle 20, and the other plenum chambers, cooperating with their respective nozzles and acting in conjunction with plenum chamber 19, cooperate to provide and assure even and efficient distribution of a supply of gaseous drying medium.

Having thus described my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modications and adaptations can be made without departing from the scope of my invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In an air distributing wall, a plurality of similarly shaped and spaced members, each of said members comprising a minor upright portion, a lower horizontal portion having one end connected to the lower end of said minor upright portion, a major upright portion having its lower end connected to the other end of said lower horizontal portion, and an upper horizontal portion connected to the upper end of said major upright portion, said members beingpositioned with the minor upright portion of each succeeding intermediate member spaced from the major upright portion of the preceding member to form outlet nozzles therebetween and so that the upper horizontal portion of each member overhangs the minor upright portion o1 each succeeding member, the minor upright portions and lower horizontal portions and major upright portions of said members defining plenum chambers, the minor upright portion of each of said members being shorter than the major upright portion of each of said members to form passageways respectively interconnecting said outlet nozzles with said plenum chambers, the length of each said lower horizontal portion and each said upper horizontal portion being such as to form an inlet passageway into the upper end of each said plenum charnber between the free end of each said upper horizontal portion and the upper end of each succeeding major upright portion.

2. .in an air distributing wall, a pair of opposed side plates, a plurality of similarly shaped intermediate members extending between said side piates, each of said intermediate members comprising a minor upright portion, a lower horizontal portion having one end connected to the lower end of said minor upright portion, a major upright portion having its lower end connected to the other end ot' said lower horizontal portion, and an upper horizontal portion connected to the upper end of said major upright portion, said intermediate members being positioned with the minor upright portion of each succeeding intermediate member spaced from the major upright portion of the preceding intermediate member to form outlet nozzles therebetween and so that the upper horizontal portion of each intermediate member overhangs the minor upright portion of each succeeding intermediate member, the minor upright portions and lower horizontal portions and major upright portions of said intermediate members dening plenum chambers, the minor upright portion of each of said intermediate members being shorter than the major upright portion of each of said intermediate members toform passageways respectively interconnecting said outlet nozzles with said plenum chambers, the length of each said lower horizontal portion and each said upper horizontal portion being such as to form an inlet Vpassageway at the upper end of each said plenum chamber between the free end of each said upper horizontal portion and the upper end of each succeeding major upright portion, and end members closing the ends of said wall.

3. In an air distributing wall, a pair of opposed side plates, a plurality of similarly shaped intermediate members extending between said side plates, each of said intermediate members comprising a minor upright portion, a lower horizontal portion having one end connected to the lower end of said minor upright portion, a major upright portion having its lower end connected to the other end of said lower horizontal portion, and an upper horizontal portion connected to the upper end of said major upright portion, said intermediate members being positioned with the minor upright portion of each succeeding intermediate member spaced from the major upright portion of the preceding intermediate member to 4 form outlet nozzles therebetween and so that the upper horizontal portion of each intermediate member overhangs the minor upright portion of each succeeding intermediate member, the minor upright portions and lower horizontal portions and major upright portions of said intermediate members defining plenum chambers, the minor upright portion of each of said intermediate members being shorter than the major upright portion of each of said intermediate members to form passageways respectively interconnecting said outlet nozzles with said plenum chambers, the length of each said lower horizontal portion and each said upper horizontal portion being such as to form an inlet passageway at the upper end of each said plenum chamber between the free end of each said upper horizontal portion and the upper end of each succeeding major upright portion, the free end of each said upper horizontal portion being spaced from the upper end of each succeeding major upright portion a distance substantially equal to the spacing between the major upright portion of each of said intermediate members and the minor upright portion of the succeeding inter mediate member, and end members closing the ends of said wall.

4. ln an air distributing wall, a pair of opposed side plates, a plurality of intermediate members similarly shaped and extending between said side plates, each of said intermediate members comprising a minor upright portion, a lower horizontal portion having one end connected to the lower end of said minor upright portion, a major upright portion having its lower end connected to the other end of said lower horizontal portion, and an upper horizontal portion connected to the upper end of said major upright portion, said intermediate members being positioned with the minor upright portion of each succeeding intermediate member spaced from the major upright portion of the preceding intermediate member to form outlet nozzles therebetween and so that the upper horizontal portion of each intermediate member overhangs the minor upright portionof each succeeding intermediate member, the minor upright portions and lower horizontal portions and major upright portions of said intermediate members deiining plenum chambers, the minor upright portion of each of said intermediate members being shorter than the major upright portion of each of said intermediate members to form passageways respectively interconnecting said outlet nozzles with said plenum chambers, the length of each said lower horizontal portion and each said upper horizontal portion being such as to form an inlet passageway at the upper end of each said plenum chamber between the free end of each said upper horizontal portion and the upper end of each succeeding major upright portion, the free end of each said upper horizontal portion being spaced from the upper end of each succeeding major upright portion a distance substantially equal to the spacing between the major upright portion of each of said intermediate members and the minor upright portion of the succeeding inter mediate member, said last mentioned spacing in turn being substantially equal'to the spacing between the upper end of the minor upright portion of each of said intermediate members and the upper horizontal portion of the preceding intermediate member, and end members closing the ends of said wall.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

